Series of storms to deliver rain, mountain snow to western US through next week

Several storms will strike the western United States through next week and deliver the first significant mountain snowfall of the season.

"A series storms will begin to affect the West during Friday night and continue through at least the middle of next week," AccuWeather Meteorologist Ryan Adamson said.

The arrival of the first storm will end the record warmth in the West. A brief period of drier weather and some sunshine will occur between each storm.

First storm to reach West Coast by Friday evening

"This storm will be fairly weak and mainly affect Washington, Oregon and Idaho with light to moderate rain," Adamson said.

Some rain will also clip portions of northern California.

With mild air still present across the area, snow levels will remain well above all passes.

Rain will taper off throughout the day Saturday as drier weather will span much of the region prior to the next storm later this weekend.

Second storm to hit the Northwest this weekend

"This storm will contain more moisture than the previous one and affect a slightly larger area," Adamson said.

Washington, Oregon and northern California will see the brunt of the rainfall. However, enough moisture will produce widespread showers across Idaho and Montana.

Over an inch of rain can fall across portions of western Washington and Oregon. Snow levels will remain above pass level.

Those commuting to and from work on Monday should be alert for minor travel delays.

Third storm may bring first significant snowfall of the season

"This storm will be the coldest of the three, with accumulating snow likely in the Cascades and Sierra Nevada and even in locations farther inland," Adamson said.

Rain associated with this storm will reach the West Coast on Tuesday and continue to spread inland into much of the Intermountain West through Wednesday. Rain from this storm may even reach central and Southern California.

"Scattered showers may make an appearance in Los Angeles on Wednesday," Adamson said.

The push of much colder air will change rain to snow across the Cascades and Sierra Nevada down to pass levels later Tuesday and Wednesday with accumulations likely.

Accumulating snow will also fall across the Cascades, Bitterroots and portions of the Great Basin. How much cold air is present will determine if snow makes an appearance to some lower elevation areas such as Salt Lake City.

This would end up as the first significant snow of the season for the West.

Additional storms are likely to hit the West Coast for the remainder of the month.